Zimbabwean English: A sociophonological exploration

Kadenge, Maxwell

doi:10.1080/02572117.2010.10587334

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…A possible motivation for this variation is the different environments in which English is learned and used. BrE is an L1 learned and used both at home and at school whilst ZE is an L2, and is usually learned at school and rarely used at home (Kadenge, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…English is one of the 16 official languages of Zimbabwe and is used as a language of teaching and learning, and in most government departments (Kadenge, 2009). The other official languages, namely, Barwe, Chewa, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zimbabwean Sign Language are rarely used in high‐status and formal domains of society such as education, industry, government, and parliamentary business (Kadenge, 2010). Regarding L2 English varieties such as ZE, Kachru (1992) shows that the varieties emerging in different countries are a sign of linguistic innovation, accommodation, and adaptation, language‐change features which form part of world Englishes and occur as a result of language contact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Discourse markers so and well in Zimbabwean English: A corpus‐based comparative analysis

Chapwanya

Nel

2023

World Englishes

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This analysis of discourse markers so and well in Zimbabwean English (ZE) and British English was carried out to determine possible statistically significant variations in their occurrence and function frequencies in spoken and written registers, and in different genres to ascertain if they are used in the same manner in both languages and in different language use contexts. The ZE corpus and the International Corpus of English‐Great Britain (ICE‐GB) were compared to reveal statistically significant variations in some registers and genres. Regarding so, the marking implied result and the sequential so functions were more frequent in the ICE‐GB compared to the ZE corpus. Well occurred more in the ICE‐GB compared to the ZE corpus. Searching for the right phrase, rephrasing or correcting, move to main story, indirect answer, contributing an opinion, direct answer, continuing an opinion, and evaluating a previous statement occurred more in the ICE‐GB compared to the ZE corpus.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discourse markers so and well in Zimbabwean English: A corpus‐based comparative analysis

Chapwanya

Nel

2023

World Englishes

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“…Moreover the unrelenting global advance of English and its dominance in almost all spheres of Zimbabwean life should give linguists and custodians of indigenous languages a sense of foreboding. As it stands now, it would be naïve to expect a change of fortune for English, at least in the foreseeable future (Ndhlovu, 2009;Kadenge, 2010). So, ways of promoting the indigenous languages alongside English would be a desirable, pragmatic and achievable goal for the Zimbabwean community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing Digital Technology in the Revitalisation of the Linguistic Heritage of Zimbabwe: Possibilities and Challenges

Marungudzi¹,

Chiwewe²,

Mhute³

2014

GJSETR

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Indigenous Zimbabwean languages have through history endured marginalisation in terms of functional status in government administration, law, education, business, the media, science and technology. Though such marginalisation may be traced back to the colonial 'inheritance situation' (Bambgbose 1991), a solution to it may lie to some extent in the use of digital technology. It is argued that digitisation provides a propitious window to reverse language marginalisation or to intensify language revitalisation efforts where they have already been initiated. This can be realised through digitising all literary and non-literary works in the indigenous languages, building corpora of indigenous languages, using databases of indigenous languages to write dictionaries, filing other art work such as theatre and drama, music, poetry and film all in digital format. Notwithstanding the potential of digital technology, it was found out from interviews and web analyses that efforts to harness the technology in language revitalisation remain stunted. This paper also argues that the expense of the gadgetry needed to run the digital technology, negative attitudes towards indigenous languages, lack of resources to carry out language documentation field trips, lack of innovative intellectuals and personnel skilled in digital technology stand in the way of efforts to restore and expand the status of the indigenous languages of Zimbabwe.

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Frequency and Variability in the Use of Modal Verbs in Zimbabwean English

Chapwanya,

Nel

2024

Corpus Pragmatics

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This corpus-based exploratory study examines modal verbs in Zimbabwean English (ZimE), and British English, to determine whether there are variations in use between the two varieties. Data from the ZimE corpus and the International Corpus of English Great Britain (ICE-GB) were analysed quantitatively and statistically to gain insights into how the usage patterns of modal verbs might be influenced by the usage context. Results show variations in the frequency of can and will, with the ZimE corpus registering more frequencies compared to the ICE-GB. The frequencies of could, may, might, and would were higher in the ICE-GB compared to the ZimE corpus. Overall, the ICE-GB contained more modal verbs than the ZimE corpus. In the spoken registers, results indicate that could, may, might, shall, and would occurred more in the ICE-GB, while can and will were attested more in the ZimE corpus compared to the ICE-GB. In the written registers, the ICE-GB recorded more occurrences of could, may, might, and would. A qualitative analysis was done by means of semantic interpretations of the modal verbs in different contexts. Results show the use of can be able to occurring as a modal phrase. The effects of language contact also lead to code-switching. Both results serve as possible motivations for variation. Furthermore, the use of can and will in past time contexts, and the use of the habitual will in past contexts, account for the higher overall frequencies of can and will in the ZimE corpus.

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Zimbabwean English: A sociophonological exploration

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

Discourse markers so and well in Zimbabwean English: A corpus‐based comparative analysis

Discourse markers so and well in Zimbabwean English: A corpus‐based comparative analysis

Harnessing Digital Technology in the Revitalisation of the Linguistic Heritage of Zimbabwe: Possibilities and Challenges

Frequency and Variability in the Use of Modal Verbs in Zimbabwean English

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